David Allison

THE family of a Wearside boy who was abused three decades ago have spoken of their relief after the paedophile who made his life hell was caged.

Depraved Scott Wood, 47, subjected his victim to a series of harrowing sex assaults in the mid-80s.

My son has lived with what happened for 30 years and it still affects him to this day.

Victim’s mum

In his late teens Wood, who until recently worked at Nissan’s Sunderland plant, tempted the youngster with cigarettes and sweets before sexually assaulting him on a number of occasions.

As Wood was jailed for eight years and forced to sign the sex offenders’ register for life, his victim’s mum told the Echo: “My son has lived with what happened for 30 years and it still affects him to this day.

“It’s like a life sentence for all of us.”

The victim was a schoolboy when he was abused by Wood.

He was unable to tell his family what had gone on after Wood had warned him it would get the boy into trouble.

The abuse stopped suddenly, but it was only a number of years later, as a man, that the victim felt able to let his family know of the horrendous ordeal he had been put through.

His mother said: “My son came to me one day and told me he had been sexually abused as a child.

“When he said it was Scott Wood I didn’t know what to say.

“He said he used to give him money, sweets and cigarettes and then abused him when they were alone together. He groomed him.

“Then I think he put the fear of God into my son so that he wouldn’t talk about it to anyone.”

In 2013, the victim contacted Northumbria Police and gave a statement, leading to Wood’s arrests and charge by the Crown Prosecution Service.

The victim and members of his family took to the witness box to give evidence at the hearing.

“Harrowing isn’t the word for what that was like,” said the victim’s mum.

“We’re a law-abiding family and to have to appear in court like that was such a shock to the system.

“But we got through it together and when the verdict came we were over the moon.”

Despite pleading not guilty to all charges, a jury at Newcastle Crown Court convicted Wood, of Poplar Street, Chester-le-Street, of four sex offences against a child under 16 after a two-day trial.

He will now spend the next eight years behind bars and will remain on the sex offenders’ register for life.

“My son was preyed on by Wood and it’s been 30 years that he’s had to live with it,” added the woman.

“But he feels proud of what he has done in speaking out about things and it’s such a relief for him and all of us.”

The family also said that if there are any other victims of Wood’s deplorable acts, they should come forward and notify police.

“I can’t praise Steve Smith and the other staff at Northumbria Police enough,” said the victim’s mum.

“They were brilliant with us and if there are any other victims then I hope they do come forward.

“The help and support from the police we’ve had is amazing.”

A spokesman for Nissan confirmed to the Echo that Wood is no longer employed by the company and the offences against the boy took place before he worked there.